THUNDER BAY - Young baseball players who dream of playing under the floodlights and rounding the bases after hitting a homerun will be getting some very helpful lessons from some major league players.
This August, PRO Kids will be hosting Training with a Pro Baseball Edition, providing aspiring young players an opportunity to train with former baseball pros from Thunder Bay.
“It’s really awesome,” said Ally Drombolis, PRO Kids marketing and fundraising assistant. “It’s very much in line with PRO Kids and our values and getting kids that recreational activity, physical exercise, but also learning from the pros too. They have a lot of skills and it’s awesome to see the kids interact with them.”
This is the third pro training clinic hosted by PRO Kids, having already held a hockey and football camp last year. This year, kids will be getting lessons from Chris Toneguzzi of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Bob Jesperson of the Cincinnati Reds organization, Dan Grant of the Northern Iowa Panthers, and Jason Hart of the Chicago Cubs organization.
“It was just a fantastic way to give back to the community,” said Toneguzzi. “With the World Championships coming up I wanted to do something to spark the interest. I intended on planning a clinic, but then I heard of PRO Kids and got together with the team of Laura and Ally and what a fantastic organization.”
Younger kids will learn some of the basics of the game when it comes to fielding, hitting, and throwing, while the older kids will get lessons on strategy and getting into good situations in the game of baseball.
For 11-year-old Jack Weiss who plays for the Port Arthur Nationals Little League team, getting out on the field with some pro players will really help his game.
“I’m looking forward to just practicing and getting better for when I play for my team and hoping I do well,” he said. “I need to work on hitting and fielding ground balls.
“You want kids, whenever you get them on the field, you want to expand their knowledge in some way, whether take some basic stuff, or more fine point tuning when it comes to their mechanics whatever they are doing on the baseball field, that would be a positive day in my eyes,” Toneguzzi added.
Jack said he is looking forward to training with the pros because he knows just how much work it takes to master a sport like baseball.
“They worked hard to get there and that’s what I want to do,” he said. “So just to have them help me and get better.”
Toneguzzi said baseball is great for developing coordination, but there are benefits to all sports that go beyond the field, or rink, or baseball diamond.
“It teaches you time management, how to work as a team, and it’s a great way to keep kids focused, out of trouble, and how to teach them a lot of life skills,” he said.
The Training with a Pro Baseball Edition will be held Sunday, Aug. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the George Burke Park Ball Diamonds. There is room for 40 participants between the ages of eight and 16-years-old and registration costs $50.
All money raised will go towards supporting PRO Kids. More information on registration can be found on the PRO Kids website.
